


If Only

by katherinecoveys



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, also he's gay, and so in love with zuko it hurts, chaotic bi sokka, lee????? nah thats zuko bruh, sokka is so stupid, the jasmine dragon is here bc im soft, zuko just likes messing with sokka
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:34:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25027786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katherinecoveys/pseuds/katherinecoveys
Summary: from my prompt off of my tumblr: "soulmate au where ½ of the couple gets a tattoo of their soulmate’s name on them. sokka gets zuko’s name suddenly tattooed on him and he freaks tf out because soulmates aren’t supposed to be enemies and soulmates surely don’t send a combustion man after each other. he decides to ignore the tattoo and pursue his own destiny, when he meets a tea shop employee named lee. sokka finds himself falling in love with lee more and more each time he visits the shop. zuko isn’t aware that sokka doesn’t know it’s him. honestly he likes messing with him but then finds himself falling in love too."
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 326





	If Only

**Author's Note:**

> this will have 3 chapters! sorry for a sort of short first chapter! it'll get juicier in the next one hehe.

In the Southern Water Tribe, the act of finding one’s soulmate was passed down from generation to generation. The tribe’s ancestors firmly believed that finding the person who raised you up and brought the good out in you was a vital part of life. 

When a tribe member was born, the name of their soulmate would be marked onto their skin. But, the thing was, soulmates weren’t supposed to be enemies. Soulmates weren’t supposed to fight each other. And soulmates weren’t supposed to try to kill each other. 

Sokka grew up hopeful of finding his match. Some of the children in the tribe already knew who their soulmates were, as they grew up together. Katara, his little sister, wasn’t so lucky. And neither was he. 

“Aang?” His sister read the name off of her forearm.

Gran Gran touched her finger to her lips, her mind deep in concentration, “If I’m correct, it sounds like a name the Air Nomads would use.”

“But, Gran Gran, the Air Nomads,” Katara started, “aren’t they all dead?”

Their grandmother smiled, ruffling Katara’s hair, “Don’t worry, Katara. The markings never lie. Although, it is strange that the airbenders are extinct, sometimes life just works that way.”

His sister smiled, pleased with the answer.

Sokka’s eyes traveled to his own forearm, reading the name over and over again. Zuko. There was no woman named Zuko in their tribe. He wasn’t even sure if Zuko was a woman’s name. That part didn’t bother him. It was the fact that he didn’t know who his soulmate was. Sokka wasn’t the type of person to play guessing games. He liked to take control of his own destiny. He was a brave warrior of the Southern Water Tribe. He would find his soulmate on his own accord.

And then, one day he did.

“Ever since Mom died, I’ve been doing all the work around camp while you’ve been off playing soldier,” Katara whipped her arm back, her anger getting the best of her.

“Uh, Katara,” He tried. 

“I even wash all the clothes.” Her voice roared, “Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you, not pleasant!”

“Katara,” Sokka tried once more, “settle down!”

“No! That’s it, I’m done helping you. From now on, you’re on your own!” Katara moved her arm back so fast it could slice someone’s neck off.

He had never seen his sister’s bending so powerful before. Sure, bending was a little weird to him. But, he wouldn’t deny that his sister could do it. Before this, though, Katara only made a few droplets of water appear. She never could crack an iceberg with just her pure rage. Sokka knew he had messed up.

His sister looked behind her, her eyes widening as she witnessed what she had done. Her mouth opened, hesitantly, then closed. Then her lips trembled, “Did I do that?”

“Uh, yeah,” Sokka said, his tone dry.

That’s when she saw him. The boy in the iceberg. 

“Is that,” She squinted trying to look through the foggy ice, “is that a person in there?”

Sokka had to doubletake. There was no possible way a person could be frozen in an iceberg and be alive. No way. He wouldn’t allow himself to believe it. And there was no way he was going to allow his little sister to get a step closer to that floating piece of ice.

Before he could open his mouth, his boomerang was in his sister's hand as she whacked the iceberg with it. Sokka flew forward, after his sister, "Katara, get away from there!"

But it was too late.

“I need to ask you something,” The boy mustered out.

Sokka rubbed his eyes, he had to be delirious. There was no way that boy was alive. And there was no way he had Air Nomad tattoos throughout his body. They’d all been extinct for a hundred years. Wait.

"What?" Katara asked, her face subconsciously inching closer to the boys. "Will you go penguin sledding with me?" 

***

The boy’s name was Aang and he, indeed, was an airbender. And he was Katara’s soulmate. Aang was careless and carefree. Too careless, actually. Because if it weren’t for his naivety, the fire nation wouldn’t be docked at their camp. And if it weren’t for him, Sokka wouldn’t have gotten a foot to the face by a fire nation soldier.

“Where is he? I know you’re hiding the Avatar,” The same soldier demanded.

Nothing. The women of the tribe remained silent. And then, he grabbed Sokka's grandmother. The soldier hissed, "Around this age? Master of all the elements?" 

Soulmates weren’t supposed to grab each other’s grandmother like that. And soulmates weren’t supposed to make your grandmother’s eyes fill with fear. 

“Leave her alone!” Sokka got up from the snow mound.

The scarred soldier merely looked in Sokka’s direction and plucked the spear from his foe. With the spear still in the soldier’s hand, he poked Sokka with it, knocking him onto his feet. Then, he snapped the wooden stick in half. 

“I am Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. I am here to regain my honor and I am here to capture the Avatar. If you do not reveal him to me, I will burn this village to the ground,” He threatened.

Zuko. Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. 

It was that day that Sokka knew soulmates didn’t really matter. He wasn’t going to follow some silly tradition if it meant that the person who was supposed to complete him… wanted to destroy him. From that day forward, Sokka would pursue his own destiny. He would find his own soulmate. One that wasn’t from the Fire Nation.

***

When he was on Kyoshi Island, Sokka figured the gang would only rest there for a few days. Two, maximum. But, Aang was persistent that Appa was tired from all of the travelings he had been doing as of recently. At first, Sokka really couldn't blame the bison. If he were taking a one hundred year nap, suddenly was thrown awake, and then was forced to fly in the air every time someone yelled "yip yip!" to him, Sokka would be a little groggy too.

But, after a while, Sokka knew their extended stay on Kyoshi was more related to the sudden praise Aang was receiving rather than Appa’s sleeping habits.

Kyoshi Island was nice though. The people were kind to them, providing Sokka and his friends' endless amounts of food, and the warriors took him in, too. There was one warrior, though, who had caught Sokka's immediate attention. Suki.

She had vibrant, dark brown eyes. Her hair was cut into a short bob and it framed her face nicely. She was strong. Honestly, she could kick Sokka’s ass any day and he’d probably thank her. No, he’d definitely thank her. But she was much more than just a warrior or just a strong companion. She was cool, too. Though they had a rocky first start when Sokka had arrived on Kyoshi, their friendship quickly blossomed. 

Sokka wished it was her name. He wished she was the one.

It was then that the fire nation arrived, looking for Aang. Zuko and his uncle were already wreaking havoc on the island that did its best to stay out of the war for so long. They were burning it to the ground and Sokka knew it was because they had stayed a day too long. They were not soulmates. Zuko was a monster. 

“I treated you like a girl when I should’ve treated you like a warrior,” Sokka met Suki’s eyes.

A smile crept onto the girl’s face, “I am a warrior, but I’m a girl too.”

She kissed him on the cheek. Suki kissed him on the cheek and then he had to flee.

***

While they rode towards the North Pole after successfully making their way off of Kyoshi, Sokka laid on his back, thinking to himself. Suki had kissed him. Well, she kissed his cheek. But still. She had kissed him. She could so easily be the one to replace the name etched onto his forearm but yet something still felt so off. Suki was an amazing girl. She was kind, beautiful, and brave. But Sokka's heartfelt hollow. Empty. He knew she couldn't replace the section in his heart that was reserved for Zuko. And Sokka hated it.

“Are you okay, Sokka?” Katara asked her brother.

“Huh?” He snapped out of his thoughts.

“You look a little, uh, constipated,” Aang looked behind his shoulder.

“No, I don’t!” Sokka exclaimed defensively and then turned to his side.

***

When they had gotten to the North Pole, Sokka was certain that Yue was different. She was beautiful with vibrant white hair and piercing blue eyes. But, she was betrothed. And then, she turned into the moon. 

But Zuko was there too. He was always there, always following them. Wherever Aang was, Zuko was ten steps behind. Sokka would never believe that Zuko was his soulmate. He had a broken, dark heart. And Sokka refused to let him in his life. Not after what he had done. He wanted to capture Aang. He was from the fire nation, hell, he was the prince of the enemy. Yet, Zuko’s name was still the one written on his wrist.

***

The gang was growing bigger, now they had Toph. She was a spunky and courageous girl who was a serious powerhouse when it came to earth bending. Ba Sing Se was an incredible city with tons of amazing shops and places to eat. But there was one place, one building in particular, that Sokka felt drawn to. It was almost as if gravity was gripping him by the ponytail and throwing him towards the tea shop. The Jasmine Dragon.

Katara and the others decided to take a day to themselves to explore the city. Sokka, somehow, ended up at the tea shop. He didn’t even like tea. He was more of a meat guy, to be quite honest. But, yet, there he was.  
He wandered into the busy shop, making his way to the front counter. What kind of tea would he even order? Jasmine? No, that had to be too common. He would look like a loser if he ordered something so basic. And that’s when he saw him. The boy with the scar. His guard immediately went up, the only person he knew with a scar like the worker’s was Zuko. But, why would Zuko be working in some random tea shop in the Earth Kingdom? And didn’t he have that weird ponytail hairstyle the last time they bumped into each other? 

“Uh,” The employee stuttered.

“Hi,” Sokka said back to him.

“Welcome to The Jasmine Dragon. My name is, uh,” He hesitated, “Lee. How can I help you, stranger, who I've totally never met before?"

“Hi, Lee!” Sokka smiled, “Can I get…”

Lee stared at Sokka blankly. Sokka could’ve swore that he saw sweat beads form at Lee’s hairline. Sokka closed his mouth then reopened it, “Hey, what’s your favorite type of tea?”

Lee paled, “I don’t like tea.”

“Oh, me too,” Sokka nodded.

“Then why are you here?” Lee questioned Sokka.

Sokka’s lips formed a line, “I don’t really know. It’s like, well, it’s like something was telling me to come here.”

Lee’s eyes widened and then he nodded slightly as if he understood what Sokka had meant. What did Sokka mean, though? He was sure that something had drawn him to the tea shop. But what? Destiny? A dry throat? He wasn’t sure.  
  


***

Sokka made excuses to go to The Jasmine Dragon alone sometimes. Lee was always there at the front counter and they’d always talk about how nasty tea was. But, one day, they didn’t.

“Hey, Lee,” Sokka began.

“What is it?” Lee asked.

“Where did you get that scar? I’ve seen someone with one exactly like that before,” 

Lee froze. 

“Wait!” Sokka exclaimed, “I know who you really are.”

“You do?” He asked.

“Yeah, you’re that juggler from the traveling circus I’ve been hearing about!” Sokka said, his voice fast and excited.

Lee exhaled and then coughed out a stiff laugh, “Oh, uh, yeah. I’m an ex-juggler.”

The two fell silent for a moment, their eyes meeting each other. Sokka would never admit it, but the past few days he spent in the tea shop talking with Lee were some of the best days he'd had in a while. Lee was awkward, there was no debate about it, but he had a good heart. He was kind. And he was funny when he wanted to be. Sokka really liked the joke he made about a leaf and a bush. Well, to be honest, Lee didn't really tell it that well, but he was cute. So there's that.

“Hey, Sokka,” Lee spoke, his eyes glued to the counter.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Sokka asked.

“Would you like to, maybe, uh, go hang out sometime?” The tea shop employee was blushing. He was definitely blushing. 

“Yes.” Sokka answered without even thinking, “Yeah, I’d really like that.”

This wasn’t like how it was with Suki or Yue. Sokka’s heart raced every time he got to make his way towards the tea shop. A smile was brought to his face each time Lee entered his thoughts. And for the first time, Sokka truly thought that maybe, just maybe, he could alter who his soulmate was. Zuko hadn’t entered his thoughts since the North Pole. Lee had taken over his every thought, his every move. He knew Zuko was just a lost memory now. 

A painful, distant memory that Sokka was more than happy to leave behind.

**Author's Note:**

> i think we all know who lee is. sokka u fool,,,,


End file.
